PDP challenges FG to publish expenses since May 29

• Flays Buhari’s ‘voting pattern-based governance’ style
• Faults President’s U.S. visit team, presentation
• Opposition issuing hollow statements, says APC

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to publish Federal Government’s expenditure since he assumed office on May 29, 2015.

But the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the PDP as lacking in capacity to provide “worthwhile opposition.” Mohammed advised the opposition to desist from issuing hollow statements just to be in the news.

The PDP condemned President Buhari’s alleged statement that development projects in any part of the country would be based on the 2015 Presidential election-voting pattern.

At a press conference addressed by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in Abuja, the opposition accused the APC-led Federal government of displaying crass inexperience in handling state matters, just as it described the President’s visit to the United States as “yet another miscarried cosmetic intervention to hide government’s inefficiency and inability to face the real business of governance.”

The PDP scribe urged the Federal Government to get more serious with the business of governance, particularly the anti-terror war, which, it noted, has increased in the last few weeks.

It stated: “It is disheartening that, rather than secure any sort of tangible gain for the fight against terrorism, which has lost steam under the APC watch, with insurgents, who were pushed to the verge of surrender by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, now surging back and spreading into the country, we get nothing but exchanges and disagreements between the Presidency and their American hosts. This is not only embarrassing but also worrisome indication of crass ineptitude in the handling of international affairs on the part of the present administration.

“We urge the APC-led administration to settle down, put its acts together and get determined, without further excuse, to face the fight against insurgency with every sense of seriousness, especially given President Buhari’s promise in his April 2, 2015 CNN interview to end the scourge two months after his inauguration, which is by the end of this month.”

On the President’s voting pattern-based development comments, the PDP said: “While Nigerians awaited reassuring words to promote our democracy and unity as a nation, they were shocked as they watched President Buhari unfold to the world his decision to administer the country on the basis of the voting pattern in the last general elections, rather than on equity as stipulated by the constitution and his oaths of office as President of Nigeria.

“President Buhari told a stunned audience in the US that “constituencies that gave me 97 per cent cannot in all honesty be treated, on some issues, with constituencies that gave me five percent,” signifying that his government will be discriminatory.”

The PDP lamented that “never in the history of our nation has a president made such a divisive and vindictive declaration. Never in the history of Nigeria has a President made such tendentious, biased and partisan statement, a blade on the chord of unity of his own country and people.

“President Buhari, as a respected leader and father of the nation, whose “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody’ inaugural speech brought great hope to Nigerians, must, therefore, note the enormous damage and danger his recent partisan declaration brings to the polity,” the PDP said.

“We demand that the President come clear on this matter. Would this form the basis of government appointments rather than adherence to merit and principle of federal character as enshrined in the constitution?

Would this be a basis for termination of appointments, promotions and key policies in the service circle? Would it form the basis for distribution of infrastructural development projects and other essential interventions rather than the principle of equity and equality of federating units as stipulated by the constitution? Is this a deliberate policy by the APC or his personal stance? Are we expecting the same discriminatory policy from APC state governors?” the PDP queried.

The party reminded President Buhari that his declaration to run a discriminatory government was in clear violation of his oath of office as
President wherein he publicly swore, “that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; …”

Metuh argued that President’s stance had further divided the people along sectional and religious lines and might trigger a return of quest for ethnic and sectional self-determination. “The burden,” the party, therefore lies squarely on him to moderate the political ambiance in the nation and do the needful in reassuring all sections of the nation of his commitment to being fair and just, in keeping with the oaths and demands of the highly respected office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The PDP also expressed dissatisfaction with the manner issues affecting Nigeria’s socio-economic development were managed during the President’s visit to the U.S. It stated: “Similarly, the business community in Nigeria and indeed across the world noted with utter dismay the disgraceful treatment meted out on some Nigerian bankers and captains of industries by President Buhari during his US visit.

“Whereas the President has the right to decide who makes his entourage on such an important official visit, which visibly excluded National Assembly leaders, economic experts and had no woman, the manner with which he shamed and walked out Nigeria’s businessmen sends very wrong signal to international investors and poses great threats to inflow of direct foreign investment into our country.

‘These Nigerian businessmen were rejected by their President, only for them to be valued by other
Presidents of African nations who led them into a meeting with President Barrack Obama in their own countries on account of their investments in those nations.

“Whilst we reserve our comments on the numerous blunders and gaffes in the presentation of ideas, we note the embarrassment caused by the absence of an economic team for healthy and informed discussion at the meeting with officials of the US government.

Whereas President Obama came to the meeting with a formidable team of experts and key federal officials, our President had three APC governors with questionable performance and who owe salaries and billions of naira in debts, thereby robbing our nation of the benefits and gains of the discussions.”

The opposition party also called on the Presidency to abide by its earlier stand on transparency to publish all expenses incurred since May 29, 2015.

It condemned the Buhari administration for seeking to undermine the legislature by allegedly arranging a loan of $2.1 billion from the World Bank.

The PDP stated: “Furthermore, since the president has insisted on running his government as a sole administrator, making important decisions on national affairs without recourse to relevant statutory arms and organs of government, we are compelled to demand that this administration come out clear on its expenses since assumption of office in May in keeping with its much harped stance on transparency.

“We make this demand because, since the APC took office, the nation’s financial system in the absence of statutory functionaries has been enmeshed in confusion, controversy and fertile atmosphere for financial sleazes.

“Recall that when it assumed office, this administration raised the issue of empty treasury only for the nation to learn few days later from the Accountant General of the Federation that about $2.1 billion was left in the Excess Crude Account (ECA). When the PDP demanded credit for the ECA savings, the nation was suddenly made aware of huge sums from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas dividends from which the APC-led Federal Government announced financial bailout for states.

The opposition party said that some governors had denied receiving any financial bailout from the Federal Government despite the public announcement by the Federal Government to that effect.

“It is interesting to note that whereas the Presidency has gone ahead to unilaterally deplete the funds without recourse to appropriate statutory arms of government, state governors are on air announcing that they have not received any form of bailout whatsoever from the center, raising serious questions on the handling of national resources.”

On the $2.1 billion from World Bank, the party said: “This is more so as we have information that the Presidency, acting alone, has gone into discussions with the World Bank for a loan of $2.1 billion for purposes unknown to Nigerians. What is the loan for? What are the terms and who are those working the papers? Who are the people to decide on how the money will be spent? Is it true that the $2.1 billion loan is meant to pay back huge contributions for the APC Presidential campaign expenses?

“If truly this government is transparent, it should come out clear on this loan as well as publicise details of its expenditure in the last two months.”

Decrying the delay by President in constituting his cabinet, the PDP said: “We are worried that the ineptitude, avoidable inactivity, lack of policy direction and absence of ministers to coordinate government affairs have left the nation’s economy sour with continued slide of the naira that has fallen from under N200 to the dollar in May to an all-time low of N240, in addition to the excruciating loss in the capital market, which has lost over N1.1 trillion in the last two months.”

With the recent display of insensitivity in deciding that ministers would be appointed in September, a reneging on the earlier promise to unfold a cabinet two weeks after inauguration, Nigerians should brace up for more economic loses ahead, a development which spells doom for the gains earlier achieved by the PDP administration in growing our economy to the biggest in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world.

Indeed, Nigerians are no longer in doubt that they have been scammed with long list of empty promises. This government has failed to articulate any policy direction in any sector. What we see is a smart attempt at cosmetic governance, loud propaganda and artful move to appropriate the achievements made by the PDP-led administration; such as the effort in ending polio, the improvement in power supply, which is a dividend from numerous investments by the previous administrations, the return of the railways among others.”

“The only achievements and change brought by the APC government are the curbing of the fundamental human rights of citizens; engaging in selective application of war against corruption, interfering in the activities of the National Assembly and eroding the independence of
INEC. The order of the day has become the crass victimisation and harassment of officials of the immediate past administration.”

The opposition party also expressed concerns about alleged attempts by government officials to deny the former first lady and wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, access to some protocol facilities at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

It stated: The recent organised public humiliation of the immediate-past First Lady and wife of the former President, Dame Patience Jonathan, at the Port Harcourt airport where she was refused access to the protocol lounge, based on ‘order from Abuja’ is a particular case in point.

‘We stress this case because when the immediate past President was in power, all former Presidents and their spouses had unhindered access to the protocol longue.

“While we note that this development has been widely condemned by Nigerians, we ask if the former President erred in conceding defeat. Is the Federal Government, by any means, encouraging a sit-tight attitude by government officials?”

But the APC, in its response, said no government in Nigeria’s recent history has been as focused and systematic as the one headed by Buhari in restoring good governance, especially coming after the worst stretch of governance, lasting all of 16 years, by the immoral and reckless PDP.

“It is worth noting that even the leader of the world’s foremost democracy, President Barack Obama, said that much during the recent visit to the US of President Buhari, when he described him as a man of integrity with a clear agenda.

‘’President Buhari is working hard every day in the priority areas of tackling security and corruption, rebooting the economy to provide jobs for our teeming youths and generally to restore good governance. We are sorry for those who are too blind with hatred to see this.

‘’We know that the PDP is terrified by the expose of how the Federal Government it led has looted the treasury and created an environment for impunity to thrive, as well as the fate that will befall those who were part of the show of shame and disgust.

‘’But we assure Nigerians that this government will not interfere with the work of the security and anti-corruption agencies, and also that under the Buhari Administration, only the guilty needs to be afraid.

‘’In the meantime, no amount of mumbo jumbo from the PDP will stop the Buhari Administration from its tough but inevitable task of restoring Nigeria’s lost glory,’’ APC said.